


Being Intimate with Brokenness

by princessironspider



Series: When Words Fail, Music Speaks [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:01:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessironspider/pseuds/princessironspider
Summary: Tony and Peter's journey to becoming father and son.Based off the song "Son" by Sleeping at Last





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you think you have seen this story or title before...I have rewritten the first story I posted and hopefully made it better. 
> 
> Again ignoring Infinity War and Endgame...this takes place some time after Civil War and Homecoming. 
> 
> Trigger Warning: mentions of panic attacks, nightmares, and PTSD
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

"Son" by Sleeping at Last

\--

"_Show me_  
_Who I am and who I could be_  
_ Initiate the heart within me_  
_ 'til it opens properly_"

_\--_

To say that Tony's thoughts were running wild was an understatement. He was currently sitting in the common room with the recently pardoned Avengers for their newly mandatory movie night. Cap thought it would help them become a close team again. Tony just saw it as a waste of time, he currently had other more important things to worry about. Like the current reason for his racing thoughts. The kid. 

May had called him a couple days ago saying her company was sending her on a retreat, and she couldn't get out of it. She was going to be gone for three weeks, and had nowhere to send Peter who was currently on summer break from school. In a moment of blind excitement, Tony agreed to house the little spider so May could go on her trip and not have to worry about Peter getting into trouble. But after he agreed and the kid was dropped off by an angry looking Happy, Tony started to think it may not have been the best idea. 

Ever since the Avengers returned...Tony has taken a turn for the worst. His nightmares about Siberia and the following panic attacks have made a sudden reappearance and he currently hasn't gone a night without them. So he has taken to not sleeping. Again. But now that the spider-kid is here, he can't act like that. Which was the current focus of his mind. 

The kid idolized him for some insane unknown reason, and having him stay here, where he could possibly see Tony at his worst? A terrible idea. Tony was just waiting for the moment that he slipped up and the hero worship was gone from the kid's eyes forever. And so like the genius he so clearly is, he had been very distant with the kid for the first couple days he'd been here. The way he sees it, if Peter isn't around, he won't see Tony fall apart, and maybe Tony won't have to worry about Peter leaving like everyone else.

His thoughts are interrupted when FRIDAY's voice rings through the semi-quiet common room. 

"Boss, Peter Parker seems to be in distress. He is headed your way now." Tony sat up quickly, his heart racing in his chest and his mind going through every worst case scenario. His attention snapped to the elevator as he distantly heard the other avengers pause the movie to watch what would unfold. The elevator dinged and Peter came stumbling out. He was drenched in sweat and his eyes were puffy and red, clearly from the tears currently racing down his face. Tony jumped to his feet. 

"Mr. S-Stark?" Peter sobbed as Tony rushed over and gathered the teen in his arms and lead him back to the couch.

"Yeah Pete, it's me. You're okay. Did you have a nightmare?" he asked gently, rubbing the kids back as he tucked himself into Tony's side. He watched as Peter gave him a shaky nod, causing more tears to leak out of his eyes. 

"Okay. Okay. You're okay spider-baby. Shhh, I got you." the engineer whispered, rocking the boy back and forth in his arms. After what seemed like hours, Peter finally calmed down and his breathing evened out as he fell back asleep. When he finally looked up from the slumbering super-kid, he froze a little. He had forgotten that the Avengers were in the room and were looking at the pair on the couch in equal looks of confusion and surprise. Tony's face hardened as he looked around the room, daring them to say anything about what had just transpired. He watched as Steve turned off the TV and they all started to slowly file out of the room, sending him small smiles as they passed. He watched them leave one by one, until Clint was the only one left. 

"Who knew you'd be the next dad on the team." he whispered, sending Tony a wink, before heading out after the others. 

\--

"_I can't keep my head from spinning out of control_  
_Is this what being vulnerable feels like?_  
  
_And I will try, try, try to breathe_  
_ 'til it turns to muscle memory_"

_\--_

After carrying Peter back to his room, he headed straight down to the workshop. He needed a distraction, and he needed one fast. He couldn't get what Clint said out of his head. He hurried and busied himself with updates on the kid's suit. 

He was able to stave off the panic for a few hours, but when he hit a snag in one of the safety protocols, his breaths started getting stuck in his throat. How was he supposed to keep the kid safe if he couldn't figure out a stupid string of code. He has one job, keep the kid safe, and he is already failing. Hell, the kid already almost died trying to save his plane. What happens the next time the kid tries to play hero...what if his parachute fails and he falls like Rhodey did. What if Karen malfunctions and can't call Tony, leaving the kid to bleed out and die without him knowing. And now Clint planted the seed of being the kid's father into his head. he couldn't be the kid's father. He didn't know how, his own father sucked. He could't even take care of himself, how was he supposed to play dad with such a fragile kid. He would ruin him. He can't be a dad.

He couldn't breathe. His hand flew to his chest and he fell to the ground. He clutched at where the arc reactor used to be, his vision starting to get fuzzy around the edges. His lungs screamed at him to breathe, but as much as he tried he couldn't get a breath in. During his panic he distantly heard the doors to the workshop slide open and someone head in his direction. He felt a hand reach out and grab his, bringing it to their chest. He noticed their exaggerated breathing and tried to match his to it. It seemed to be working, as his vision cleared and the person's words started filtering in. 

"That's it Mr. Stark. You're doing great. Just keep following my breathing okay? Everything is okay, you're going to be okay. That's it, just breathe." He listened to the kid's words and focused on his breathing. He looked up and saw Peter sitting in front of him, concern flooding his eyes, with a strained smile on his face. See? Only a couple days in and he's already shown the kid how messed up he is. This was exactly what he needed to avoid. He couldn't watch Peter leave like everyone else, when they saw how flawed the genius was. When his breathing started picking up again, Peter jumped into action. 

"No, no Mr. Stark. It's okay. Just keep breathing. Come on, you can do it." Peter whispered a little more desperately. Tony really focused then. He had to get his crap together. After they sat there for a few more minutes, he had finally calmed his breathing down enough that he was sure he would be able to stay calm. He let his hand drop from Peter's chest and watched as the kid sat down next to him, leaning against the work table behind them. They sat there in silence before Peter seemed to muster up the courage to say something. 

"Are you okay Mr. Stark?" he asked quietly. Tony looked over and let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah, kid. Just peachy. Sorry you had to see that. How'd you get down here anyway, I thought you were sleeping?" Tony said, trying to put as much confidence in his voice as he could. He failed though, as his voice came out raspy and quiet. Peter looked over trying to meet his eyes, but the engineer looked away. He wasn't ready to see the disgust in the kid's eyes from watching him lose his mind. He heard the kid sigh impatiently.

"I was already awake Mr. Stark. You've been down here for hours on lockdown. FRIDAY told me you were in distress. She let me in. I thought you were having a heart attack or something. But FRIDAY helped me know what to do...what uh...what set it off?" Peter asked shyly. Tony shook his head, he wasn't going to let this kid play shrink. He didn't need the kid to see how messed up he was. 

"Nothing kid. It just happens sometimes. I'm all good." He said gruffly, struggling to get to his feet. He heard Peter sigh again as he helped him stand up and walk to the couch. Peter stood in front of him with an annoyed look on his face and his arms crossed. 

"With all due respect Mr. Stark, you're full of shit. There's no need to pretend like nothing happened. You always tell me it's better to talk about it than let it simmer. So, let me try this again. What set it off?" Peter said again, with his eyebrows raised. Tony's eyes widened at the kid's sudden confidence. They stared at each other for a couple moments before Peter gave him a soft smile and sat down next to him. "You can tell me anything Mr. Stark. It won't change anything." Tony's shoulders slumped and his head dropped into his hands. 

"You. It was because of you." He felt Peter stiffen beside him and continued on before the kid got the wrong idea, "Last night Clint made a comment about me...about me being your dad. And it was stupid. That set me off into a panic so I tried to distract myself with your suit upgrades. But then my mind started thinking up every possible way you could get hurt, and I wouldn't be able to save you and...and I didn't want you to get hurt because I couldn't protect you. What kind of dad would I be if I couldn't protect my kid? A dad is supposed to be there to protect his kid, I can't do that...I-" his mindless rambling got cut off as a teenage spider launched into his arm and enveloped him in a hug. He froze when he heard quiet laughter coming from the curly haired mass in his arms. He furrowed his brows in confusion. 

"Mr. Stark. You do protect me. You made me the suit, and I know there's so many protocols on there that I don't even know about it. You're doing your job. And you-you're a good dad. I know you worry about turning out like Howard. But, you aren't him. You are so much better. You are always there for me. You come to all of my school stuff, you listen to my stories, you help me with my homework, you help me when I have nightmares...that's what a dad does. And you're pretty good at it." Peter pulled away and met Tony's eyes with a smile when he finished. Tony stared at him in awe. The kid had just witnessed him have a major panic attack, talked him down, listened to his insane rambling and yet he still wanted him around? And he thought he was a good dad? Tony was speechless for a few moments. 

"Thanks, kid. Really. For the panic attack...and for...you know." Tony said, reaching out and ruffling the boy's hair. Peter smiled at him, and Tony felt like the luckiest man alive that a kid as good as Peter looked up to him. 

"No problem...Dad." Tony's face stretched into a smile. Dad...now that didn't sound too bad. 

\--

"_I ran the risk_  
_Of being intimate with my brokenness_  
_ I was given a gift of hope and a thousand finger prints_"

_\--_

From then on Peter called him Dad. And Tony's heart warmed a little more every time. They had created a system from then on, whenever one of them was feeling anxious or had a nightmare, the other would be notified right away. Tony helped the kid through plenty of nightmares. And the kid talked him down from even more panic attacks. Even when he went back to May's he would always answer Tony's calls when the engineer needed to hear his voice after a particularly bad nightmare. Tony was still amazed that the kid still admired him, even after seeing him at his most lowest point. But he guessed that's what happened when they became father and son. 


	2. Being intimate with Brokenness--part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another take on the song "Son" by Sleeping at Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a new idea for this song. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment if you do!

\---  
_Show me_  
_Who I am and who I could be_  
_Initiate the heart within me_  
_'til it opens properly_  
\---

He woke up with a start. His breathing was hard, and he struggled to maintain it, while trying to figure out what woke him up. 

"Boss, Peter just got back from patrol and he needs medical attention. He is on his way to the med-bay now." FRIDAY's voice broke through his reverie. Tony's heart flipped in his chest, causing a feeling to drop into the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite recognize. 

He stood up on shaky feet, and let them lead him to the elevator. He felt like he was in a fog the entire journey there, and soon he was walking into the med-bay. It felt like ice water was poured over him, when he saw what was waiting for him there. Peter was sitting there clutching his thigh, while a knife...a knife was sticking out of it. 

Tony opened his mouth a couple times, but no sound came out. He felt the familiar clutches of panic gripping his lungs, but he pushed it down. The last thing he needed right now was to freak out in front of Peter. He could do it later, in the quiet confines of his lab. 

He rushed over to Peter's side, and ruffled his hair a bit. 

"Wow, kid you certainly got yourself impaled didn't you?" Tony said, voice calm and soothing, and he saw Peter's shoulders relax at his voice. The kid sent him a shaky smile. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to happen, Mr. Stark." the kid said, voice shaky. Tony shook his head, and smoothed his hair down. 

"It's fine, as long as we can fix you up, that's all that matters." Tony said, as Dr. Cho came walking in. 

"Tony. I'm glad you're here. Peter wouldn't let me do anything until you got here." she said, and Tony sent Peter a dry look, to which the kid just responded with a shrug. 

"Okay doc, what's the verdict?" he asked, steeling himself to hear the worst, even though he logically knew a stab wound to a super spider would be nothing. 

"I just have to take the knife out and clean and wrap the wound, and he should be good by tomorrow. I want you to take it easy though tomorrow, just to make sure it's healed." She said, giving Peter a stern look. Tony nodded, and nudged the kid's shoulder. 

"You heard the doc. No patrol tomorrow, capishe?" Tony said, and Peter let out an annoyed sigh but nodded.

"Good man. Okay go for it doc." Tony said, activating his watch gauntlet and offering it to Peter. The boy sent him a questioning look. 

"It's probably gonna hurt, and we don't have spider-boy meds quite done yet. So you can squeeze my hand, but if I let you squeeze my squishy human hand, you'd break it." Tony said, like it was obvious. Peter paled a few shades, but nodded, and latched his hand onto Tony's armored one. Tony nodded to Cho, who got to work. 

He could feel the gauntlet straining under the pressure of Peter's grip, while the kid squeezed his eyes shut. 

"You're doing so great, Pete." Tony encouraged, watching as Cho finished cleaning the wound, and started dressing it. "Almost done, kiddo." he said, placing his other hand on the boy's back and rubbing circles softly. He could feel the tension start to leak out of the boy, as Cho finished. 

"Okay, you should be okay to go back to your room tonight Peter. But remember, take it easy tomorrow. I'm going to go get you a wheelchair." Dr. Cho said. Tony sent her a grateful nod, before she walked out. 

"You did great, bud. But let's refrain from getting impaled okay? I already have enough heart problems." Tony said, retracting his gauntlet back into his watch. Peter let out a shaky laugh. 

"Will do, old man." Peter retorted, already gaining more color in his cheeks. Tony scoffed. 

"The disrespect." Tony said, shaking his head, as Dr. Cho walked back in with a wheelchair. Peter eyes it with obvious disgust. 

"Is this really necessary?" Peter asked, crinkling his nose. Tony gave him a dry look. 

"Yes. You just got stabbed. Humor me will you?" Tony said, patting the wheelchair. Peter rolled his eyes but sat down in it. 

Tony rolled him to his room, before helping Peter get settled in his bed. 

"Okay, get some sleep, kid. I'll go call May and make sure she knows where you are." Tony said, ruffling the kid's hair. The kid was laying down, seemingly already tired if his half lidded eyes were any indication. He sent Tony a sleepy smile. 

"Thanks, Mr. Stark. You're the best." he mumbled, before he was gone to the world. Tony stayed there for a second, before heading down to his lab. 

\---  
_Slow down_  
_Start again from the beginning_  
_I can't keep my head from spinning out of control_  
_Is this what being vulnerable feels like?_

_And I will try, try, try to breathe_  
_'til it turns to muscle memory_  
_I'm only steady on my knees_  
_One day I'll stand on my own two feet_  
\---

When he arrived at his lab, he called May. She was worried, but once he assured her that he was in the best hands, she hung up. Tony sighed, and slumped down on the couch in the corner of his lab, letting the phone fall on the cushions beside him. 

He placed his head in his hands and blew out a breath. He didn't want to let his thoughts spiral out of control, but he couldn't help it. Peter got hurt. Peter could have died, alone and bleeding out. And he wouldn't have known. 

How could he have let this happen? And since when did he care so much about what happened to the kid? He knew that he would never want to kid to get hurt, but why did it feel like his heart was ripped out of his chest seeing Peter hurt, covered in blood. 

The only time he ever felt like that was when Pepper fell, or when Rhodey fell, or when he found Happy in the wreckage of that explosion. But that was different, he loved them. They were his family, his people. 

Wait, does that mean? No. Clearly that doesn't mean that Tony thinks of the kid as family right? What would he even be to the kid? A father figure? He would hope not, he couldn't be a father. His own father showed him that. All Stark's were good for was destroying things, and he couldn't be Peter's father figure. He would destroy him. And Tony didn't want to destroy Peter, he was such a good kid. He was innocent, and here Tony was laying some sort of subconscious claim on him? It was selfish is what it was. 

Gosh was it hot in here? Why did his chest feel tight...why can't he get a breath in? 

"Boss, you are experiencing a panic attack. Would you like me to notify someone for help?" he could barely make out FRIDAY's voice over the roaring in his ears. All he could hear was his erratic heart beat as his heart attempted to beat out of his chest. Which was burning, why was his chest burning? Oh, cause he couldn't breathe, right. Why couldn't he breathe? Was he dying? He couldn't die, if he died then who would make sure Peter didn't go and get himself killed. The kid was still new at this kind of thing. He wasn't ready to go it alone. 

But it really felt like he was dying. He clutched at his chest, rubbing his knuckled against his sternum. Breathe in, breathe out. It should be simple. Shouldn't his body know how to do this on it's own? So why is it not working now? Muscle memory should have kicked in by now right, so why couldn't he breathe. 

He distantly noticed that he was somehow now on the ground, and he could hear FRIDAY trying to get his attention, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. He couldn't breathe, and his mind kept showing him the image of Peter covered in blood. Which really wasn't helping the breathing situation. 

He couldn't mess this kid up more than he already has. But, what was he going to do about it? Kick him out, tell him he didn't want to see him anymore? He couldn't do that, he could see the kid's dejected face now. It would crush Peter, not to mention he liked having the kid around. But that was selfish. Why was he so selfish? 

He can't do this, he didn't know what to do. He just wants his brain to slow down, to stop twisting everything around. He wants to take a breath, because the burning in his chest has grown painful, and he didn't like it. His vision was swimming, and the next thing he knew everything went black. 

\---  
_And I'll run the risk_  
_Of being intimate with brokenness_  
_Through this magnifying glass I see a thousand finger prints_  
_On the surfaces of who I am_  
\---

When he woke up, it was to the sound of steady beeping. He could recognize that sound anywhere. He was in the hospital? The med-bay? Either one, and he wouldn't be able to tell until he opened his eyes. Which he didn't want to do, because then he would have to face whoever the lucky person was to have found him unconscious on the floor of the lab. So he kept his eyes closed, and listened to his surroundings to see if he could figure out who was in the room. 

"You may as well open your eyes. I'm a nurse, not stupid." a voice came from his right. It took him a bit to realize that the voice belonged to May. But why was May here? 

He snapped his eyes open and turned to the side, confirming his belief that it was in fact May standing by his bed, looking over his charts. He raked his eyes over the rest of the room, before realizing they were in the med-bay. Which didn't make sense, because May didn't work here. 

"What? Why are you here?" He asked, voice hoarse and scratchy. May raised an eyebrow at him, before holding a cup with a straw in front of his mouth. He drank from it slowly, before raising his eyebrows at the woman. 

"Well, Tony where would you like me to start?" May said, and uh oh she was angry. What did he do? He racked his brain for a few moments, trying to figure out what it was that he could have done, but came up empty. 

"You're angry about something." he stated, dumbly, earning a sarcastic laugh from the woman. 

"Mad? No. Annoyed? Yes." May said with a clipped tone, before she sat down in the chair next to his bed. 

"Okay...why are you here then?" Tony asked, hoping to get more answers out of the woman. She let out a deep sigh, before leaning forward towards him.

"Well, after your call last night, I assumed all was well with you and Peter. But low and behold, not 2 hours later I get a panicked call from my kid, saying he found you unconscious on the floor of your lab, and that I needed to hurry to make sure you were okay." she said, and he could make out the bags under her eyes, probably from the lack of sleep. 

"Oh." Tony said, guilt pooling in his stomach. He didn't want the kid to be the one to find him, he was hoping it would just be Pepper, or Happy. He couldn't imagine the kind of panic he must have given the kid. 

"Yeah. Oh." May said, sitting back with her arms folded across her chest. 

"Wait. That explains why you're here. But not why you are annoyed." Tony said, itching at the IV in his elbow, before May's hand slapped it away. 

"Stop. I'm annoyed because you don't seem to get it through your head, that there are people in this world that care about you. That would stop everything to help you, and yet you don't tell them anything until they have to find you unconscious on the floor of your lab." she said, with concern and anger in her eyes. 

"I--" Tony tried to say but she cut him off. 

"Peter told me it was a panic attack. And that you seemed off after he got there. He had just assumed that it was because you were worried. But if you had just told someone, or called for help when you started feeling like that, then we wouldn't be here." she said. 

"Why would I do that? It's just a panic attack. I get them all of the time, I can handle it just fine on my own." Tony defended. That was the wrong thing to say though, because the woman stood up, fire in her eyes. 

"Why would you do that? Because then my kid wouldn't have to find you unconscious, all alone! That's why! I have an upset kid, who knows where in this place, because he thinks it's his fault! If you just got it through your head, that you don't have to do it alone all the time. We would all be there to help you. Tony, you wouldn't have to suffer all alone, if you just called someone." May said, as she began to pace. 

"He's upset?" Tony asked, quietly. And it seemed that all the fight leaked out of her, because she slumped back down in the chair. 

"Yeah, Tony. He's upset. He thinks it's his fault that you were panicking. And don't try to convince me that it wasn't, I know you. And he thinks he should have made sure you were okay." May said, softly. 

"Why?" was all that he could think to say. May let out a sad sigh.

"Because he cares about you. And that's what people do when they care, they want to help. You just have to let them." May said, giving him a pointed look at the end. He nodded slowly. 

"Okay." He said. She raised her eyebrow at him. 

"Just okay? No I would like you to tell me what you have learned from this experience?" May said, a parental tone in her voice. Tony rolled his eyes. 

"To ask for help when I need it." Tony said, in a dry voice. May rolled her eyes but nodded. 

"Good. Now, I will release you as long as you promise to go find my kid and fix this. And I mean be 100% honest with him about why you panicked." May said, pointing at him, before setting to remove his IV. 

"Okay. I'll try. But what if he thinks of me differently now? He saw me like that, what if I lost his respect?" Tony mumbled, rubbing his arm after she wrapped the bandage around it. 

"He won't." May said, sounding very sure about it. "Go." She said, nodding towards the door. 

"Fine." Tony mumbled, heading to the elevator already knowing where Peter was. 

"Take me to the roof, FRI." 

\---  
_Show me_  
_Where to find a silver lining_  
_As the mercury keeps rising_  
_'til the glass on my fever breaks_

_Show me_  
_How to struggle gracefully_  
_Let the scaffolding inside of me be strong enough to hold this tired body up_  
_Once more_  
\---

He walked out onto the roof and saw a small figure sitting in a chair close to the edge. There was a seat next to him, like it was just waiting for him. 

"Did May say it was okay for you to leave?" the boy's voice filtered to him, before he was even next to him. Tony was confused until he remembered the spider sense. 

"Yes. She did. Scout's honor." Tony said, grunting a little when he sat down in the chair. He was tired, and getting old apparently. 

"You weren't a boy scout." Peter deadpanned, still not looking at him, but keeping his gaze fixed on the horizon. 

"That's not the point. You wanna tell me why you are up here all alone moping?" Tony asked gently, staring at the kid's profile. He watched as the boy looked down at his hands. 

"I don't know. Are you going to tell me why you didn't think I would come help you when you were having a panic attack?" Peter said, finally turning to him with a piercing gaze. Tony let out a breath. 

"I'm not used to having people around, kid." Tony said, turning to fix his stare on the horizon instead of holding Peter's gaze. 

"That can't be true. What about Pepper, and Mr. Rhodes...and Happy?" Peter said, curiosity softening the previously hard tone. 

"You know, I was dying a couple years back, and none of them noticed? It's not their fault, I didn't tell them. I know they care about me, but they have their own things to worry about, they don't need my stuff on top of that." Tony said, feeling older than he was, and tired. 

"But you know they would drop anything for you if you needed them right?" Peter asked then, voice quiet. Tony shrugged, because he couldn't answer that with any kind of certainty, and wasn't that sad? He felt Peter sigh next to him. 

"Okay. Do you know that me and May would?" Peter asked then, voice barely above a whisper. Now it was Tony's turn to look down at his hands. 

"Tony." Peter said then, the shock of being called by his name caused him to look up at the kid. Peter was looking at him with wide brown eyes, pleading and intense. 

"You have to know we would. You could have called me last night. I would have helped you, you didn't have to suffer alone to the point where you passed out. FRIDAY only called me because you were unconscious and couldn't tell her not to." Peter said, sadly. 

"I didn't want you to see me like that." Tony said, looking down again, guilt filling him. 

"It wouldn't have changed anything, other than your night in the hospital." Peter said, causing a shocked laugh to spill out of Tony's mouth. 

"I believe you kid. Would you believe me if I said I will try to remember to call you if I need help?" Tony said, looking at the kid. Peter narrowed his eyes at Tony for a few moments, searching his face. 

"Yeah. If you tell me what caused the panic attack." Peter said, turning to face him, head on. 

"Kid..." Tony sighed, but Peter shook his head. 

"No. Tell me." He demanded, so Tony let out a sigh, and decided to tell the truth.

"You." He said, watching as Peter's shoulder's slumped as if he knew what Tony was going to say. 

"I panicked because you got hurt, and I couldn't stop it. And I couldn't stop picturing you covered in blood, and I couldn't stop thinking that I was going to ruin you. I don't want to ruin you..." Tony trailed off, feeling his heartbeat pick up speed. Peter seemed to hear it because he lunged forward and pulled Tony into a hug. 

"You won't." he whispered, with such a surety that Tony felt the need to believe him. "I love you, Tony." he heard Peter whisper next. He felt a smile stretch across his face, and his heart calm down. 

"I love you too, Pete." He whispered back. 

\---  
_I ran the risk_  
_Of being intimate with my brokenness_  
_I was given a gift of hope and a thousand finger prints_  
_On the surfaces of who I am_  
\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment! Suggestions and advice is always welcome!


End file.
